Rev. Dummer was a Congregational church minister murdered in the Candlemas Massacre in York Village, Maine. On that day, Abenaki Indians and French Canadians came down from the North and attacked the village. After he was shot dead they stole the Reverend's clothes, stripping him naked and mutilated his body before capturing his wife, Lydia, and his son.
Obituary poem by the famous Cotton Mather:
"Dummer, the shepherd sacrificed
By wolves, because the sheep he prized.
The orphan's father, churches light,
The love of heaven, of hell the spite.
The country's gapman, and the face
That shone, but knew it not, with grace.
Hunted by devils, but relieved
By angels, and on high received.
The martyred pelican, who bled
Rather than leave his charge unfed.
A proper bird of paradise,
Shot and flown thither in a trice.
Lord, hear the cry of righteous Dummer's wounds,
Ascending still against the savage hounds,
That worry thy dear flock, and let the cry
Add force to theirs that at thine altar lie."
-Cotton Mather
In this area of the attack, a memorial stands in memory of 40 people murdered in the Candlemas Massacre and the 300 people the Indians kidnapped, some taken as hostages. Many of these hostages died on the journey where they were forced to march to Canada.
Inscription:
"NEAR THIS SPOT
are interred the remains of the victims
of one of the worst massacres of colonial days.
On Candlemas Day,(January 25th) 1691-2,
in the dawn of a January morning, Abenaki Indians
attacked the settlement of York,
burning the houses and killing or capturing
300 of its inhabitants.
About 40 were killed, the rest marched to Canada,
many dying on the way."
(Erected to the memory of these hardy pioneers by the society for the preservation of historic landmarks.)
Rev. Dummer founded the First Parish Congregational Church of York, the oldest Congregational church in Maine.
Obituary poem by the famous Cotton Mather:
"Dummer, the shepherd sacrificed
By wolves, because the sheep he prized.
The orphan's father, churches light,
The love of heaven, of hell the spite.
The country's gapman, and the face
That shone, but knew it not, with grace.
Hunted by devils, but relieved
By angels, and on high received.
The martyred pelican, who bled
Rather than leave his charge unfed.
A proper bird of paradise,
Shot and flown thither in a trice.
Lord, hear the cry of righteous Dummer's wounds,
Ascending still against the savage hounds,
That worry thy dear flock, and let the cry
Add force to theirs that at thine altar lie."
-Cotton Mather
In this area of the attack, a memorial stands in memory of 40 people murdered in the Candlemas Massacre and the 300 people the Indians kidnapped, some taken as hostages. Many of these hostages died on the journey where they were forced to march to Canada.
Inscription:
"NEAR THIS SPOT
are interred the remains of the victims
of one of the worst massacres of colonial days.
On Candlemas Day,(January 25th) 1691-2,
in the dawn of a January morning, Abenaki Indians
attacked the settlement of York,
burning the houses and killing or capturing
300 of its inhabitants.
About 40 were killed, the rest marched to Canada,
many dying on the way."
(Erected to the memory of these hardy pioneers by the society for the preservation of historic landmarks.)
Rev. Dummer founded the First Parish Congregational Church of York, the oldest Congregational church in Maine.
Rev. Dummer was a Congregational church minister murdered in the Candlemas Massacre in York Village, Maine. On that day, Abenaki Indians and French Canadians came down from the North and attacked the village. After he was shot dead they stole the Reverend's clothes, stripping him naked and mutilated his body before capturing his wife, Lydia, and his son.
Obituary poem by the famous Cotton Mather:
"Dummer, the shepherd sacrificed
By wolves, because the sheep he prized.
The orphan's father, churches light,
The love of heaven, of hell the spite.
The country's gapman, and the face
That shone, but knew it not, with grace.
Hunted by devils, but relieved
By angels, and on high received.
The martyred pelican, who bled
Rather than leave his charge unfed.
A proper bird of paradise,
Shot and flown thither in a trice.
Lord, hear the cry of righteous Dummer's wounds,
Ascending still against the savage hounds,
That worry thy dear flock, and let the cry
Add force to theirs that at thine altar lie."
-Cotton Mather
In this area of the attack, a memorial stands in memory of 40 people murdered in the Candlemas Massacre and the 300 people the Indians kidnapped, some taken as hostages. Many of these hostages died on the journey where they were forced to march to Canada.
Inscription:
"NEAR THIS SPOT
are interred the remains of the victims
of one of the worst massacres of colonial days.
On Candlemas Day,(January 25th) 1691-2,
in the dawn of a January morning, Abenaki Indians
attacked the settlement of York,
burning the houses and killing or capturing
300 of its inhabitants.
About 40 were killed, the rest marched to Canada,
many dying on the way."
(Erected to the memory of these hardy pioneers by the society for the preservation of historic landmarks.)
Rev. Dummer founded the First Parish Congregational Church of York, the oldest Congregational church in Maine.
Obituary poem by the famous Cotton Mather:
"Dummer, the shepherd sacrificed
By wolves, because the sheep he prized.
The orphan's father, churches light,
The love of heaven, of hell the spite.
The country's gapman, and the face
That shone, but knew it not, with grace.
Hunted by devils, but relieved
By angels, and on high received.
The martyred pelican, who bled
Rather than leave his charge unfed.
A proper bird of paradise,
Shot and flown thither in a trice.
Lord, hear the cry of righteous Dummer's wounds,
Ascending still against the savage hounds,
That worry thy dear flock, and let the cry
Add force to theirs that at thine altar lie."
-Cotton Mather
In this area of the attack, a memorial stands in memory of 40 people murdered in the Candlemas Massacre and the 300 people the Indians kidnapped, some taken as hostages. Many of these hostages died on the journey where they were forced to march to Canada.
Inscription:
"NEAR THIS SPOT
are interred the remains of the victims
of one of the worst massacres of colonial days.
On Candlemas Day,(January 25th) 1691-2,
in the dawn of a January morning, Abenaki Indians
attacked the settlement of York,
burning the houses and killing or capturing
300 of its inhabitants.
About 40 were killed, the rest marched to Canada,
many dying on the way."
(Erected to the memory of these hardy pioneers by the society for the preservation of historic landmarks.)
Rev. Dummer founded the First Parish Congregational Church of York, the oldest Congregational church in Maine.
Gravesite Details
Buried in a mass grave among 40 victiums
Family Members
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